"Checkmate"
"ARGH!"
I can hear Luca scream in frustration as he throws his arms into the air. Ten days ago, after I asked him to play some chess with me, Luca declared to me that he is a chess grandmaster and has won many tournaments around Europe.
Sadly for him, with the Shiro Template inside of me, he cannot beat me. This template lets me calculate and easily predict his movement; the more I beat him, the more I get Shiro's intelligence.
"Because I calculate all your moves, Luca."
"How? There are too many moves I can take for it to be able to be calculated."
"But not too much for the human brain to process."
"Urgh. You are one of a kind, boss. As expected from the boss of our family."
I smile, help him pick all the chess pieces, and then put them on the board.
"How is Martha?"
"She is doing great, boss. At the moment, she is sparring with Felicia. For a Sun, she loves punching people instead of healing them."
"Hah! I know a sun with the same behavior. As long as she does not go too far, she can do whatever she wants to do. Sun Flame is great for healing and enchanting her body, but at the same time, it can be fatal."
Luca nods and says.
"You did not need to worry, boss. Martha knows this and already learned a lot from our healers and doctors. She will not use her power to hurt her body."
"Good."
After putting away the chessboard, I look at Luca and say.
"Is there anything I need to know, Luca?"
"Hmmm… Ah, there is one thing. This morning, one of our men saw a group of devils entering Bucharest, boss."
"Oh? A group of devils, huh? Are they coming from one of the noble houses?"
Luca thinks for a second before saying.
"Nothing came to mind after looking at the video footage. I will ask the others about them and maybe contact some of the magicians in the city."
"Do that. Investigate them and check if they will become a problem or not. We did want a problem with the Devil Race, but at the same time, we did not want them to mess around our territory."
"What if they create a mess, boss?"
"If it is a small amount of mess, let them be. If they do that in our city, kick them out. If they become a threat… I hear the Black Sea is full of danger, and it is a shame to see him go there for vacation and disappear."
Luca grins at my words and says.
"Concrete shoes?"
"Nah. Nothing that barbaric. We have a flame, Luca. Freeze his legs and let him sink. Felicia's flame can last for a full day before it disappears. It will make him go silent and leave nothing that can connect to our family."
"Of course, boss. We can prepare the Mist Flames in case he is a threat."
"You do that. Anything else?"
Luca nods and takes out three letters from his pocket.
"There is a letter inviting you from the noble houses in England, boss."
Ah, here we go again. Since the news of me taking this area as my territory and creating a city for all humans, nobles from other countries have asked me for marriage between our two houses.
My Sky Flame is shouting at me each time those kinds of letters arrive, and I know the reason why. They only want one thing, and that is my Sky Flame. As much as I want to hide the knowledge of the Dying Flames, I cannot do that.
The news about a new power that lets humans fight on par with vampires has already spread across Europe. I even saw a video of my men sparring, which has already spread across the biggest internet forum for all supernatural beings.
Lucky for me, they did not use their flames to show the actual power but only to enchant their body. I can hold that information a little bit longer. Information will spread, especially in this day and age.
However, I can ensure it stays hidden longer by asking my people to spar in the hidden training ground underneath the mansion. Not only that, we also make sure not to explain anything regarding our powers to outsiders or even the citizens of the city.
I shake my head and look at Luca.
"Reject them politely. Says that I cannot attend because there is a lot of work in this city that needs my attention. Tell them that we are still a young faction and need my 24/7 attention."
"Of course, boss. That is easy enough. The next letter is coming from Grigori. It comes directly from Shemhazai, the Vice Governor General of Grigori and Head Researcher of Unique Energy of Grigori."
I frown at that name and say.
"What does he want?"
"A joint research project between our two factions."
"Anything else?"
"Nothing, boss. That is all. They want a joint research project and nothing else. They only say that they want to do some research on our flames."
"They did not offer anything more than that, huh?"
"Yes."
They think that a joint research project is already an honor for us, huh? They did not offer any of their research results while they wanted to take ours. They really thought that doing experiments on my people would be a reward on its own. I take a deep breath and say.
"Tell them that we will not accept this offer. Just like before, tell them politely but firmly. We did not need to offend them, but I also want them to know that we are not satisfied with what they are offering."
"I understand, boss. The last one is coming from the Greek Pantheon, boss."
"What about them? What do they want?"
The Greek Pantheon is the strongest faction that is near us, followed by the Persian Pantheon.
"They want us to teach their demigods and a joint training season between our two factions. They will pay us in gold if we are willing to have this joint training season."
I think for a few seconds before saying.
"Tell them that we are accepting their offer."
I don't know why they approached us instead of the others, but my Sky Flame did not scream at me, and my logical side was already telling me to accept it because it was the right thing to do.
Let's see what these Greek people want from us. I just hope the Greek Pantheon is not as bad as their myth portrays it.